The history of the youngest athletes of this paralympiad

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More than four thousand athletes participate in the Paralympic Games in Paris: K. Some of them recently turned 15 years old. We tell the inspirational stories of adolescents from different countries who make their debut in Paris this year.

• Author

  

  Author

  August

• Editor

  Editor

  Hardworking caterpillar

• Designer

  Designer

  Vitya Ershov

• Publication

  September 4, 2024

Table tennis, 14 years old, Great Britain

Bly Tumi

British Bly Tumi from an early age was engaged in swimming, football and riding. In elementary school, she even won the dodgeball tournament This is a game of bouncers, in which two teams of six people participate, and to win, you need to knock out all the opponento: to with the help of rubber balls. Dodgeball is the name of the game that is used in professional sports. . The other day, 14-year-old Bly became the youngest medalist in the history of the Paralympic team of Great Britain, together with a partner, winning bronze in table tennis. And Blya lives with birth with cerebral paralysis Cerebral palsy causes damage to the neurons of the brain in the womb or after birth. Because of this, the brain loses the ability to control human movements and help maintain balance. So the motor and cognitive development of the child is disturbed. According to the Cerebral Paralysis Foundation, about 18 million people in the world suffer from this disease. .

According to the girl, she dreamed of getting to the Paralympics from the age of three. “If I had the opportunity to tell about this [participation in the Paralympics] myself a few years ago, I would probably decide that this was a joke. I could not even think that I would go to the Paralympic Games. So I'm very proud of myself, ”the athlete shares.

Due to the characteristics of health, Bly could not find friends at school and was subjected to bullying from classmates: c. Everything changed when she began to engage in table tennis and achieve success in it. Bly is distinguished for "innate understanding of the game" and "passion, which manifests itself whenever it is at the table." Thanks to her beloved game, the girl found a supporting community and self -confidence. “Table tennis saves me from all worries,” she admits .

Despite the fact that the debut of Bly at international competitions took place only in 2023, her coach and four-time participant in the Paralympic Games Will call her the most talented athlete that he has ever seen. The girl herself thanks for the success at the Paralympics of her partner on the table-a 30-year-old tennis player Felicity Picard. “She fights for every point, and I can’t wait for what awaits us in the future. This is a dream that has become a reality, ” wrote a young champion on her Instagram.

But for now, in the plans of Blya to return to his native Brighton City on the southern coast of England. , continue to study at school and train at the local center table tennis.

Tennis in strollers, 18 years old, Japan

Tokito Oda

When Tokito Oda was nine years old, doctors diagnosed him with bone cancer Bone cancer is a rare type of cancer in which cancer cells grow from the bone itself, and do not switch to bones from other parts of the body, as with secondary bone cancer. It is impossible to establish its cause in most cases. At risk, those who have been radiated, people with Li-Frameni syndrome or Pedget's disease. Left thigh. During the next course of treatment in 2012, in his hospital ward, a six -year -old boy watched the broadcasts of the Paralympic Games in London. Most of all, he remembered the Japanese Shingo Cunid - the legend of tennis in strollers and the owner of four Paralympic medals.

It was Shingo Kunyeda who became an example in sports for Oda. The teenager even played with his idol at the Melbourne Wheelchair Open tournament in 2022, but lost to him 7-6. This year, the 18-year-old Tokito Oda represents at the Paralympics the Japanese national team in strollers. According to ODO, the last three years his main dream is a victory in the Paralympics.

A few days ago, the young man posted a photo as he made a desire against the background of the triumphal arch:

I am competing with the idea that the opportunity to play in Paris falls out once in my life

He wants to use this opportunity to enhance the interest in tennis in strollers among Japanese children, as he once did a cunning. “For me, the Paralympic Games is a chance to change their life and the life of other people who will watch the match with my participation,” the athlete admits .

Swimming, 16 years old, Brazil

Victor Dos Santos Almeida

"This is my dream's debut!" - Such a post Victor Dos Santos Almeida, a swimmer from Brazil, whom the other athlete: Ki is simply called Vitino, wrote before the paralympics.

The young man is engaged in swimming all his life. “My disability was not visible at any ultrasound, because the structure of my leg is full-fledged, it is just [leg] -mini-size Shortening of the limb can be caused by traumatic or infectious damage to the epiphysar plate - a hyalin cartilage plate between the epiphysis and the tubular bone metaphysis, which is only in children and adolescents. . Therefore, when I was born, there was a shock. Mom ran to the doctors. And when I was 3 months old, the doctor advised swimming, ”he says.

However, when a teenager entered the Paralympic sports school in San Paulo in 2018, he was offered to join the volleyball team sitting This is a type of volleyball for athletes: K with defeats of the musculoskeletal system. . “I was a little upset because [...] swimming is my passion. But I was allowed to the pool: I have passed the test and since then I have been swimming in the team, ”the young man recalls .

At these competitions, Vitino is configured to win. He is going to note her with the same scale as the Spanish football player Cristiano Ronaldo For example, the Portuguese striker after the victory usually jumps with the exclamation of “SIII!”, And then notes success with the family. . “I wanted to earn a living by swimming. My goal was always to improve daily and become the best as soon as possible. I am still on this path, but already a step closer to the dream, ”Vitino estimates his participation in the Paralympics.

Together with Vitino, his parents came to Paris, who did not miss a single competition with the participation of his son. Mom of the young man Marcia is so proud of them that he cannot cope with anxiety: “The heart is pounding. He achieved this. Vitor is my love and a gift of God, ”she shares with the journalist: Kami.

Luke shooting, 15 years old, USA

Jordan White

15-year-old Jordan White does homework between lessons at school. In the afternoon, three hours six days a week, he is busy in leak firing training. This year he became the youngest athlete of the US Paralympic team and the youngest arrow from Luke in the history of the team.

Jordan was born with a fault defect The congenital deficiency of the femur (CFD) is a rare disease that can manifest itself in different forms: from congenital shortening of the femur to its severe focal failure. The stability and mobility of the hip joint in the patient: C C CFD is usually disturbed, especially if this is associated with the disorientation of the joint and soft tissue contractures. The intricate of congenital anomalies occurs between 4 and 8 weeks after the conception of the fetus. And he had already undergone about 20 operations. As a prevention, he tried to engage in other sports, including football, golf, swimming and baseball. But during the Pandemia of Coronavirus, his family decided to find a safer activity, which at the same time would allow them to spend time together in the fresh air. The choice fell on onion firing.

“At first I doubted a little, because I did not understand very well how to shoot on a bow at targets, but when I tried, I liked it,” Jordan shares. “My disability still affects shooting and balance, but for the first time in my life I was able to participate in competitions, unlike football, where I had no chance, because I simply could not go from the attack in defense,” the young man shares.

The fact that Jordan will represent the United States at the Paralympics, his relatives, with the exception of his mother, learned from the post on the composition of the American Paralympic team on Instagram. “They laid out [post] even before I myself managed to tell my family. It was quite funny to listen to how my brothers and sisters discuss this [participation], ”added a teenager.

On August 29, Jordan participated in the first round of archery and admitted that he was nervous: “I did not expect that it would be so largely and exciting. It's just that everything is much more intense than I thought. ” Nevertheless, he showed a personal record, gaining 580 points and taking 27th place in the qualifying rounds. “If I succeed, I will be very happy. If not, then I can use this experience and try good luck in the following competitions, ”the athlete explains .